Before The Whistle: Fulham v Everton

The situation is simple. Win this, or European football next season is out of the equation.

We go into this fixture cold. Yes, no one really expected to get a result at Villa Park last weekend. But we didn’t expect our rivals to either. In reality, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford all picked up points and shoved us unceremoniously into the bottom half of the table.

Make no mistake: we’re now rank outsiders to take eighth and a place in the Europa Conference League. But perhaps that’s no bad thing. Perhaps we need a mountain to climb; a pinnacle to reach.

At the base of it we have Everton. The Toffees sit two places and 12 points below us, but they’re in a similar vein of form, with just one win in their last six. They’ve got nothing else to play for this term, and you’d imagine they’d take an absolute mauling here if it meant they said goodbye to Goodison Park next week with a win against bottom side Southampton.

We’re dropping like flies as we approach the finish line. Timmy Castagne revealed this week that he’s out for the summer, having undergone ankle surgery. Silva says he’ll be back early in pre-season. With each passing week, it looks unlikely that we’ll see Rodrigo Muniz again before the break – he’s out this weekend. There’ll also be no Sasa Lukic, though he looks likely to return for Brentford. And although not a starter, Harrison Reed limped off against Aston Villa last weekend, probably ending his campaign too. The one bright light among this darkness is Andreas is back and ready to play.

Things feel a bit flat at the moment, after a fantastic season that’s brought far more highs than lows. But as Marco rightly says, we’re just one win away from our record points total. That is progress whatever way you slice it.

In terms of Europe, though, it’s win or bust. We have to be up for it in the stands if we want them to show it on the pitch. You Whites.

ℹ️ MATCH DETAILS

Kick-Off: Saturday, 3.00PM
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Competition: Premier League
TV Channel (UK): None

🚦 LEAGUE FORM

Fulham: ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
Everton: ❌ ⬜ ✅ ❌ ❌ ⬜

⚖️ MATCH PROBABILITY

Fulham: 50.5%
Draw: 25.1%
Everton: 24.4%

🥊 MOST RECENT MATCHES

Oct 24: Everton 1-1 Fulham
Jan 24: Fulham 0-0 Everton
Dec 23: Everton 1-1 Fulham
Aug 23: Everton 0-1 Fulham

🎙 NEW PODCAST: One Last Chance

We reflect on whether Fulham’s chances of Europe are truly over and look forward to a now essential win against Everton at the Cottage.

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